Drug dealer connected to area deaths gets 12 years in prison

Monday

Dec 4, 2017 at 2:13 PMDec 4, 2017 at 2:13 PM

Elizabeth Dinan

CONCORD — A Lawrence, Massachusetts, man arrested last year, after two area drug deaths, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for selling heroin and fentanyl in southern New Hampshire, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John Farley.

Rafael Delacruz, known as "Simba,” age 55, was sentenced Friday in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire after pleading guilty to the drug sales in Epping and Plaistow.

An affidavit for his arrest, filed with the federal court by Dover officer Timothy Keefe, as a member of the DEA Drug Task Force, reports that he investigated Delacruz with members of the Portsmouth police drug investigation team. The affidavit states that someone who died of a June 16, 2016 overdose in Berwick, Maine, was sold the deadly drug by Delacruz. Police obtained a recorded phone call, in which Delacruz acknowledged "he supplied the drugs that caused this individual's death," the affidavit states.

A source working with police also led to Delacruz in connection to a third-party drug sale to someone who died of a June 17, 2016 overdose in Kittery, Maine, according to the drug agent's affidavit. Delacruz was ultimately arrested in Kingston where is he was in possession of money marked by the investigating officers, the affidavit states.

As part of a plea agreement, Delacruz pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing a controlled substance and was sentenced on Friday. After his release from prison, Delacruz will be required to serve a six-year term of supervised release, the U. S. Attorney's office announced.

“Those who come to New Hampshire to distribute deadly drugs will be identified and prosecuted,” Farley said in a press release. “Federal, state, and local law enforcement officers are working hard each day to stop the flow of fentanyl, heroin, and other drugs from coming into the Granite State. I salute the teamwork of the officers who assisted in this investigation. Thanks to their efforts, this drug trafficker will no longer be damaging our community.”

“Opioid abuse is at epidemic levels across New England and those suffering from opioid addiction need access to treatment and recovery,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson. “But those responsible for distributing lethal drugs like heroin and fentanyl to the citizens of New Hampshire need to be held accountable for their actions. DEA is committed to aggressively pursuing Drug Trafficking Organizations or individuals who are coming from out of state to distribute these poisons in order to profit and destroy people’s lives. In response to the ongoing opioid epidemic DEA and its local, state and federal partners are committed to bringing to justice anyone who distributes these drugs.”

The case was investigated by the Portsmouth Tactical Diversion Squad of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Berwick, Maine Police Department with the help of York and Ogunquit Maine police.